


Through The Divide

by GanglyLimbs



Category: RWBY
Genre: Character Death, Multi, Violence, War
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-21
Updated: 2019-02-21
Packaged: 2019-11-01 23:22:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,759
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17876720
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GanglyLimbs/pseuds/GanglyLimbs
Summary: It's been twenty years since Atlas has closed its borders. It's been five years since Mistral declared war on Atlas, Vale backing them up.Ruby Rose only dreams of fighting on the front line, to be in on the action. Yang wants to keep her safe, but must also deal with her own problems. Blake only wants to keep the peace, keep the family together.Jaune Arc is just a scavenger, picking up metal from battlefields to deliver to the Xiao Long-Belladonna house to be resold to the government. And then Pyrrha dies. Nora and Ren must keep him alive.Weiss Schnee is on a mission, to save herself and her family. If that means leaving Atlas, then so be it.Ilia just wants to survive. Sun is looking for a friend.Penny wants to live.Through the tides of war, they are all brought together.





	Through The Divide

**Author's Note:**

> This is a non Salem au. While there is still Grimm, most fighting is between humans and humans or humans and robots. The character deaths are the canon character deaths. This will probably be the most bittersweet and angsty thing I will ever write. So please enjoy!

“Hi-yay!”

There’s a blur of black and red, the briefest hint of a human shape, a girl in a black dress with rose petals flowing behind her, a wild grin on her face. Then her scythe is cutting through her target and she’s on the move again. Spinning on her heel, grip tight on the handle of her weapon as she swings it through the air. It cuts into her next opponent, which falls into pieces. She repeats the movement again and again, each time speeding up a little.

When she finally stops, breathing hard, the grin is still there. The metal men she had been using as targets lay scattered on the ground, pieces here and there. She’s panting, sweating, but the wide smile on her face betrays her happiness.

“Bravo.”

There’s clapping coming from behind her and Ruby Rose turns to see Jaune Arc standing there, a small smile on his face.

“Jaune, your back,” Ruby squeals. She quickly puts her scythe away with a flourish, before running and jumping into Jaune’s waiting arms. She squeezes tight. “I thought you weren’t getting back till tomorrow?”

“Nora heard that Yang is making her Xiao Long famous Ma Po Tofu tonight. She would take on a whole squadron of Shells by herself in order to make it.”

Ruby laughs at that. “Don’t tell Yang that. It’ll go straight to her head.”

“Too late. Nora is probably in there already, demanding food.” They walk into the Xiao Long-Belladonna house to hear the sound of laughter and talking.

Blake, Ren, and Pyrrha huddle around the table, swapping stories of all the things they have gotten up to. Blake’s ears twitch in delight, attention held by the animated movements Pyrrha is making. Ruby can’t see Yang or Nora but she hears them in the kitchen.

Pyrrha waves them over and Ruby skips to give her a hug too. “Please tell me you brought back something cool for me.”

“I don’t know if we should tell you if we did or not,” Jaune teases. “You might destroy it like you did to those poor tin men out there.”

“You’ve been practicing?” Pyrrha asks.

“Of course,” Ruby says. “And I’ve gotten really good at using my scythe. They’re going to be so impressed with me once I get to basics. Maybe they’ll even decide I don’t need training and I can go straight into the field.”

Pyrrha laughs. “I don’t think that’s how that works.”

“Besides,’ Blake says. “You still have two more years till you can sign up. Maybe the war will be over by then.”

Ren nods. “No country can keep up war efforts forever. Someone will have to give.”

“But that someone might be us,” Ruby says. “We all thought Atlas would give up in those early years, but look at them now. They’re still holding on. AND they managed to take back territory that they had previously lost.”

“We’ve also managed to completely blockade them so no supplies can come in or out. Mistral is making sure both Vacuo and Menagerie will start to slow down their trade with them. There is only so much dust they can mine,” Pyrrha says.

“There is only so much dust  _we_ can mine,” Ruby retorts. “Atlas was our biggest supplier. That’s why they’re able to make bigger and better weapons, including robot soldiers, while we still rely on human capabilities. They don’t care what supplies they get from us.”

“They do when it’s food. They still have to eat,” Pyrrha says.

Jaune snorts. “That has yet to be seen. I’m sort of convinced they themselves are robots.”

“And like I said,” Blake interrupts. “You don’t have to worry about that for two more years.”

“Maybe not,” Ruby starts to say. Her hands tighten around each other. “My friends say that Mistral is accepting as young as 15 into their military.”

They stare at her and Ruby continues. “I could catch a boat and head there. Join up.”

“Ruby-”

“I can serve. I can help protect Vale, like Dad and Uncle Qrow.”

“Ruby-”

“No, Blake. I’ve really thought about this. I’m ready to go to war-”

“Absolutely not.” The voice comes from behind them and they turn to see Yang staring Ruby down, big pot of food in hand. Nora stands behind her, eyes wide and darting back and forth between them. “You are not going to war at 16 and you definitely aren’t ready.”

Ruby frowns. “Yang, I-”

“Am 16 and need to remember that. You’re not going and that is final.” Yang sets the pot on the table, loud in the now quiet room. The two sisters stare at each other.

Blake clears her throat. “Perhaps we should talk about this later?”

“Yeah, let's eat,” Nora says, hands already reaching for a bowl. The tension is broken and everyone follows in her lead.

As Yang scoops up a large batch of food, she turns to Jaune. “So what did you bring us today?”

“Just the usual- Atlessian guns and robo soldiers.”

“A whole soldier?” Yang asks and there is a hopeful note in her tone.

Jaune shakes his head. “You know how those things are made-”

“Cheap and in a hurry,” The say at the same time.

“Yeah they are,” Nora says around a mouth full of food. “Funny, considering Atlas is nothing but rich snobs and golden towers.”  

“They certainly are not sending their best,” Ren says.

“Why would they?” Pyrrha says. “We’re too far into the mainland for them to care right now. Not when they still have the coast to deal with.”

“At least it’s easy money,” Yang says. “As long as we continue to make sure their guns work, the military will continue to buy them.”

“Not to mention the scraps from the tin men,” Blake says.

“I just wish we could get a whole soldier, see what really makes them tick.”

“It was the white Grimm of my career,” Yang says, smiling a little.

“Speaking of,” Nora says. “Do you think you’ll be getting back into the scavenging business again?”

Yang looks down at her metal arm, the fingers making a dull sound as they drum against the table. “I...I want to. I just need a little more time.”

“Of course,” Ren says. He puts a hand on Nora's arm, stopping whatever it was she was about to say. “Take as much time as you need.”

“We’ll be waiting,” Jaune adds.

“Thanks,” Yang says. “I’m...I’m getting better.”

Blake’s hand covers her. “You are. And I’m so proud of you.” The two smile at each other.

Nora burps, a loud sound, and the table laughs.

     ~

After cleaning up, they head over to the shop.

The building is pretty large, basically a barn, scrap metal thrown around the front. The wooden doors creak as they open it, stepping it inside.

“Back her up over here,” Yang says, waving Nora in.

The truck is piled high with robot parts and guns. Yang picks one, aiming it at the wall. “These aren’t in bad shape.”

Blake picks up an arm, lightly throwing it up and down. She twists it this way and that. “Light. Hardly any scratches.”

Ren nods. “The battle we were sent to apparently was a small one. They think the Atlessians realized they weren’t going to win, so they just shut down their robots.”

“That never stopped them before,” Blake says. “They like to try and waste our resources since they have nothing to lose.”

Jaune shrugs. “Looks like a good mystery to solve.”

“Haven’t had any of those in a while,” Yang says. “Tell the bosses we’ll figure out what’s going on soon.”

Jaune salutes her. “Yes, ma'am.”

The four of them get set to leave, Yang sending them off with bowls of food. While Pyrrha and her talk about where their group is being sent next, Jaune and Ruby hug again.

“You know, Ruby, if you’re really looking to join the fight, we can always use more people on the scavenger teams?” Jaune offers as he pulls away.

Ruby gives him a tight smile. “Yeah, I’ll think about it.”

Jaune nods, shoulders slumping in understanding. Then he perks up. “I almost forgot to give you you’re present.” He reaches into his pack, presenting her with a silver, metal blooming flower.

Ruby gently takes it, running a hand down the elegant curves and the details in it. “It’s beautiful,” she says.

Jaune palms the back of his head. “Yeah, I thought so too. It reminded me of the trinkets mom would pick up for my sisters and me when she visited Haven. You know, before everything.”

Ruby grins, attaching the rose to her dress. “I love it Jaune. What do the symbols mean?”

“It’s a prayer for strength,” Jaune says. “I know you probably don’t need it, but I figured it wouldn’t hurt.” Jaune bites his lip. “Look, Ruby. I know you really want to go join the front lines. I can understand that. If I thought they would take me, I would be signing up too, right there and forcing the Atlessians to actually fight face to face instead of letting them be the cowards they are-”

“You’re ranting again,” Ruby says, with a small nudge.  

Jaune takes a deep breath. “Yeah. I just want you to be careful, ok?”  

“Jaune, I’m always careful,” Ruby says.

Jaune raises an eyebrow at her.

“Ok, I’m mostly careful. I promise, I’m not trying to rush into anything. I’m not in over my head, no matter what Yang says. I want to help. Really help.”

“I know,” Jaune gives her a smile. “That’s what I like most about you Ruby. You want to do good in the world. Just... be careful.”

Ruby nods. “You too. Don’t get hurt out there.” Jaune waves as he walks to the truck.

Ruby watches as they leave, staring for a long moment. Then she turns to walk back into the garage, where Blake and Yang already are, digging through the scrape.

“This one looks mostly intact, should be good,” Blake says throwing one of the guns into the pile she started. “Are we doing a discard pile?”

“Can’t,” Yang say. “Government said they need every piece of metal they can get. We’re supposed to melt them down.”

"Right. Bunch of good this is going to do,” Blake says, raising her eyebrows at Yang as she holds a rusted piece of elbow armor.

“Hey, orders are orders.”

Ruby is silent as the two talk, helping them dig through the pile. She picks up a gun, checking it over, before tossing it to the melt pile.

“Right, all orders are totally equal and should always be followed,” Blake says.

“I didn’t say that. But if they’re paying us to send them a bunch of crap, I’m not going to say no,” Yang says. “And besides, you didn’t seem to mind following orders last night.” She gives Blake a wink.

“Yang,” Ruby groans. She throws another gun in the working pile.

“It’s not what you think,” Blake tells her. “I gave her a massage.”

“A  _sexy_ massage,” Yang yells.

“You complained the whole time,” Blake says.

“That was me dirty talking.”

Ruby sighs, looking at the next gun in her hand. When she turns, she sees that one side has a large crack on it. She throws it in the melt pile.

“Hey,” Yang says, picking it up. “What are you doing, Ruby?”

“It’s broken.”

“It’s barely broken. We can absolutely fix this. You know that,” Yang puts it in the repair pile.

“It would take two months to properly repair it,” Ruby says.

“It’s just a cracked case. An easy repair. The long bit is just waiting for pieces to come in,,” Yang says.

“Yeah, like I said. It takes too long,” Ruby says as she puts another one in the melt pile.

Yang picks it up. “And what’s wrong with this one?”

“The trigger is wonky. That’ll take at least three weeks.”

“Oh no, three weeks. The horror,” Yang says. She puts her hands on her hips. “What’s gotten into you today? None of these things are unusual. Repairing stuff takes time, yes, especially when there is only three of us. But we always get them working and the government always pays us for our time.”

Ruby stands up. “Because none of the usual stuff is working. We’re wasting our time here, doing nothing, as Atlas gets closer and closer to winning the war.”

“Don’t be ridiculous Ruby,” Yang says, crossing her arms. “Atlas is no closer to winning the war than we are.”

Behind her, Blake looks between the two of them, mouth drawn in a frown.

“And why aren’t we winning more? Why are we all waiting for Atlas to do something? We should be out there, pushing forward. Not sitting here, repairing this junk,” Ruby says, throwing down her gun.

“We are helping as much as we can. They need us here too, making weapons for them, growing food for soldiers, and keeping Vale afloat. Not everything is about being out there in front of the action.”

“Don’t you listen to the radio and news reports? Mistral is practically begging for more people to join.”

“Mistral is begging for anyone but their own people to join.”

“ _Gahh,_ ” Ruby screams. “Why can’t you understand that that is what I want to do? That I want to join the frontlines and be out there fighting, actually doing something.”

“Because you’re 16, Ruby. I don’t understand why you keep skipping that part. No 16 year old should be out there risking their life like that. What’s wrong with doing what you’re doing now? Or join Pyrrha and them out with the scavengers?”

Ruby shakes her head. She turns around and makes for the door. Right as she is about to exit, she stops and turns her head around. “I don’t know how to explain to you what the right thing to do is.”

Then she leaves.

~

“I don’t know what we’re going to do with her,” Yang says, brushing her teeth. She leans down to spit into the sink.

Next to her, Blake is brushing through her wet hair. “We could let her go,” she says, giving Yang a grin.

Yang points her toothbrush at her. “Don’t even joke about stuff like that.”

Blake sighs. “You two can’t keep blowing up at each other like this.”

“I know. It’s just...ugh,” Yang says. She puts her hands on the sink, leaning forward. “The whole thing is messed up. She shouldn’t even be thinking about joining into war. She shouldn’t be so gun hol to join up and fight and kill other human beings.”

“I know,” Blake says. She walks forward to wrap her hands around Yang’s waist, laying her head against Yang’s back. “But it’s the world we live in. We can’t stop a war. Not by ourselves.”

Yang smiles, something sad. She rubs her hand against Blake’s. “It’s surprising to hear you say that,” she says, voice low. “What happened to Ms. I-can-take-everyone-on-by-myself?”

“I have you to think about now,” Blake says.

They’re silent for a second. “Just...you don’t have to agree with her,” Blake starts. “But maybe don’t immediately shut her down?”

Yang purses her lips. “I’ll try. But I don’t see how we can compromise on this.”

“It’ll all work out. I promise.”

~

Weiss hesitates at her door way, biting her lip. This is stupid. This is dangerous. She’d have to an absolute idiot to follow through with this.

Weiss glances to the side, at her desk, where a letter sits. Weiss can still see her tear stains covering it.

With clenched fist, she opens her door and leaves.

The hallways are empty (have been for the past week since her mother sent the staff on vacation). It's dark with barely any moonlight shining through the windows. Weiss moves slowly down the hallway, stomach clenching as her father's voice gets louder.

His office door is slightly ajar. Weiss peeks through, sighing in relief as she sees him on the phone. Most likely trying to negotiate with General Ironwood again.

And failing. Weiss starts to move but freezes when she sees her brother standing by the desk. He has his back turned to her, hands behind his back. He rocks on his heels, but stills anytime their father happens to look at him. Weiss holds her breath as she moves past the door, praying to the gods that Whitley doesn't turn around.

It's only when she reaches a corner and is out of sight that she lets herself breathe again. Then she makes way for the kitchen door, where she steps outside.

It’s night, the cold winds roaring down the streets. Weiss wraps her coat closer to herself, stuffing her hands into her pockets.

The streets of Atlas are empty, curfew in full affect. Which is why she stays to the shadows, avoiding the drones that roam the area, hurrying herself along. She checks behind herself for the umpteth time, swearing she sees a guard and it causes her to press herself against the wall. She stands there for five minutes, holding her breath and shaking.

Nobody passes by and she sighs.

She has to jog now, if she wants to meet her informant. She reaches the building, making sure that she wasn’t followed, before slipping inside. She uses one of her glyphs to keep the door close. The building is empty, dark, a warehouse and Weiss hates how her heels click and echo as she walks deeper.

She stops when a figure slips out of the shadows, fingers tight around her sword.

It’s a girl, with long brown hair that curls on the end. The first thing Weiss notice is that she does not have a coat, only dressed in long sleeve shirt and pants. If Weiss was a lesser person, she might have made a comment about the girl obviously not being from Atlas with how unprepared she is. But she keeps her mouth close.

The second is that the girl’s face is covered in freckles.

Weiss shakes herself before straightening. “Are you the person I’ve come to talk to?”

The girl stays silent for a second before crossing her arms. “No. I’m just someone passing through.”

Weiss sighs. “Like a ship in the night. Then let us be on our way.”

The girl walks closer, looking around. “Were you followed?”

“No, I made sure of it.”

The girl frowns. “Like you made sure to use code when talking? I don’t trust that. Stay here while I check it out.”

Weiss huffs. “That’s a waste of our time-”

The girl is already gone.

Weiss clenches her fist, but she stays in her spot. This is for Winter, she reminds herself. All to find Winter.

The girl comes back. “Looks like you weren’t lying.”

“I’m glad to know you can spot the obvious. Now, do you have the information I seek?”

The girl snorts. “Sure do.” She looks around once more. “Officially, Winter Schnee has been declared killed in action-”

“I know that,” Weiss snaps. “We received the ceremony letter.”

The girl glares. “I wasn’t done. _Officially_ , she’s been declared killed in action. But there have been some rumors, some talks amongst the soldiers in her squadron that she had been clashing with the Officers above her. No one is outright saying she’s been killed by them, but there are a lot of talking about friendly fire.”

“Any talking about if she’s still alive?” Weiss asks, taking a step closer to her.

The girl steps back. “No. All reports are that she is dead.”

“Oh,” Weiss says. She looks away.

“But…” The girl says, voice soft. “There has been some disparities in the reports. Small things like the weather or how many of the enemy there were at the time. Small things that can be waved off as them being confused in the heat of the battle. But it also might be a sign that things aren’t what they seem.”

Weiss lets out a sigh. “It’s not much, but it’s something.” She pauses, thinking. “Alright. I need one more thing.”

“Yeah?”

Weiss nods. “I need you to get me out of Atlas.”

The girl rears back. “What?”

Weiss steps forward again. “I need you to get me to Mistral. That was where Winter was last seen.”

“That’s-that’s-that’s the stupidest thing I’ve heard,” the girl says, throwing her hands up. “Do you have any idea how big Mistral is? Do you even know where you’re going? Not to mention, you’re about the most Atlas person I’ve ever seen, even if I didn’t know you were a Schnee. The rest of the world isn’t exactly friendly to you right now.”

“I don’t care,” Weiss says. “I can’t stay here. Not if Winter is still out there, alive.”

“This is madness. The stupidest thing I’ve heard. Do you not understand how dangerous this is, with how little of a chance you will actually find her?”

Weiss turns away. She’s silent for a long moment. “When we received the letter, General Ironwood came to visit, to give his sincerest apologies, and I broke down. Right there in the hallway. And you know what my father did?” She looks at the girl. “He berated me, in front of everyone. Told me that a Schnee doesn’t cry and that Winter had chosen this and it was her fault. It didn’t get me to cry less, in fact I locked myself inside my room for three days. But it did let me know that nothing was going to change. My father is unconcerned with anything but keeping his business alive. My mother broke down, well more than usually, and hasn’t stopped drinking since. My brother…” She pauses. “He is not willing to do anything. And as I sat there in my grief, all I could think was she’s not dead, she’s not dead, she’s not dead. And that’s the only thing that got me through the coming days. So if there’s a chance that I might find her, alive, I’m going to take it. And I know no one but myself is going to do it.”

Weiss looks at the girl. “So I’m doing this. Either you are going to get me out of Atlas, or someone else is going to.”

The girl grimances. “It’s still a fucking stupid plan...but. I’ll see what I can do.”

“Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me. I’m not doing you a favor, trust me. Just meet me here two weeks from today.”

~

“Well I didn’t think we’d fine this,” Ren says.

Jaune stares forward. “I didn’t either.”

It was supposed to be a simple mission. There had been a small fight along the coast two months ago and they were needed to scrape the bots left there. JNPR was supposed to meet up with another team, but after an hour of waiting past the set up time, they had decided to just head up there themselves.

Only to find the field covered in Altas personal.

The four of them hang out of sight, behind a group of trees. Watching.

“What should we do?” Nora asks.

Jaune hums. “We need to call this in.”

Pyrrha nods. “Agreed.”

“What are they even doing?” Nora ask.

“Does it matter,” says Ren.

“But look.” Nora points towards them. “They’re not picking any of them up. They’re just...searching.”

They look again.

“You're...right,” Jaune says.

The Atlas personal aren't taking any of the robots. They aren't doing anything besides turning the bots over and taking notes.

“What are they doing?”

“Do you think it matters?” Ren asks. “We should leave. It's too dangerous to stay here. If we call it in, back up should be here in an hour.”

Jaune bites his lip. He knows Ren is right but..

“I'm going to take a closer look.”

They all turn to look at Pyrrha.

“What? Pyrrha no.”

“You can't.”

“It's too dangerous.”

“We should wait for backup.”

Pyrrha shakes her head. “That will take too long. Atlas could be gone by then. This is our chance to get information and we need all the info we can get.”

Ren and Nora look at each other. “I don’t know about this.”

“You don’t have to come. I can do it.”

Jaune snorts. “Of course we’re coming. We’re not going to leave a teammate in enemy territory by themselves.”

“It would be easier if I just went myself. Too many people at once makes it easier for us to get caught.”

Jaune bites his lip. “At least take Ren with you.”

Ren nods, ignoring the way Nora clutches at him. “Having backup would be wise.”

Pyrrha sighs. “Fine. But we must be quick. Meanwhile, you guys call in backup.” She points at Nora and Jaune.

“Right. Remember, your only collecting information. You get in and out as fast as you can. Don't take any unnecessary risks.”

The two nod. “Got it.”

~

Moving in the forest is already hard. Since this part of Vale gets hit often with battles, it's a hotbed for Grimm activity. But moving when trying to not to attract humans at the same time?

Infinity harder.

Pyrrha and Ren manage to weave their way around edge of the field, slowly making their way to where the Atlas airship sits. Ren keeps a tight grip on her arm, masking their emotions as they go.

They still when the crunching of feet against the ground alerts them to someone close by.

“-13 aren't responding,” a voice says. Pyrrha and Ren crotch down lower, holding their breath.

“A waste,” another voice says. “So much resources, lost. At least we got here before those vultures did.”

“Maybe,” the first voice sounds hesitant. “Maybe Commander Pearl is right. Maybe we should-”

“Sepia, shush,” the second voice hisses. “You don't know who's listening. Besides Emperor Rosewood and General Gestlock know what they are doing. They have more battle experience than all of us.”

“I just think General Ironwood might have a point.”

“If the General really believed in his plan, then he would make it happen. Why is he hesitating?”

“Maybe he knows something we don't.”

Pyrrha and Ren look at each other. She raises an eyebrow. Ren nods his head. So there is discord within the Council. Interesting.

The two Atlas scientists continue to move around. They watch as they come to a robot, the two bending down to place a piece of tech to it’s forehead. There's a beep and then the robot's eyes flash red.

“We got one,” the shorter one shouts. She grins up at her comrade. “Finally.”

They begin working on it and Pyrrha steps closer, trying to see if she can figure out what they are doing. The two scientists mess around for a bit and all Pyrrha can see is that they look like they are pressing random buttons. With each button press, different parts of the robot move.

“Looks like we have a live one. Very little damage. Should work perfectly.”

“We should take an arm off. Maybe rough it up a bit. We don't want it to look too good.”

“Good idea.”

Pyrrha looks at Ren. Ren frowns at her. Why would they- And then the scientists get up and walk away, the robot laying back down on the ground. Lifeless.

“Why would they leave it?” Ren asks. “They said it themselves, the robot was in perfect shape. Why destroy that and leave it?”

“I...don't know,” Pyrrha says. “We should get back to the others. Discuss it there. I have a bad feeling about this, Ren.”

Ren nods. They creep back, faster than when they creeped towards the field.

“Jaune? Nora?” Pyrrha softly calls out.

“Here,” Jaune says, voice coming from a few trees. It sounds strained and Pyrrha stops.

“Are you guys ok?”

A pause.

“Yeah. We just, uh, are trying hard to not to be loud. You know how Nora is.”

Pyrrha meets Ren's eyes. The two quietly draw their weapons. “Yeah. We know. Why don't you come out now. We can go?”

Another pause. Pyrrha stands straighter.

“Whoever you are, you better come out now.”

There's some rustling and then Nora and Jaune walk out, hands on their head as two Atlessian soldiers follow behind, guns trailed on him. Both Pyrrha and Ren tense.  

“Put your weapons down,” one of the soldiers say.

“Not going to happen,” Pyrrha says.

Guns cock behind them. “I think it is,” says someone else as they come out behind them.


End file.
